Splitsing dreigt binnen christen-democratische fractie in Europees Parlement (en)

EUOBSERVER / STRASBOURG - The leader of the largest group in the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Pöttering is confident that the centre-right EPP will remain the "leading party in Europe", saying that even if some MEPs decide to leave the group, it will be "just a handful of people".

His comments come as rumours circulate of a new centrist federalist group emerging after next June's European Parliament elections.

The Union for French Democracy (UDF), which has six members in the EPP has threatened to join the new group.

The likelihood of such a group being set up increased after a meeting at the beginning of March between European Commission President Romano Prodi, European liberal leader Graham Watson and François Bayrou, head of the Union for French Democracy.

Some in the EPP are unhappy at the deal Mr Pöttering struck with the leader of the British Conservatives Michael Howard, which allows the Tories to pursue their own eurosceptic agenda while having access to EPP staff and funding.

Speaking this morning in Strasbourg, Mr Pöttering said that the possibility of the UDF leaving the EPP has to do more with domestic politics in France and added that the French party would find difficulties in justifying its position over Turkish EU membership if it joins a new group.

However, speaking to the EUobserver, Graham Watson said he was surprised by Mr Pöttering's comments.

"I haven't noticed that the EPP is very united on the question of Turkey and certainly it is an issue which will probably divide any political group, but the one that is most divided is the EPP", he said.

Mr Watson added that the EPP, rather than being "an uncompromisingly pro-European party", as the European People's Party President Wilfred Martens recently stated, is more "an uncomfortable pro-European party".

Graham Watson said that people are still examining how much agreement there is for the formation of any new group but added, "I have no doubt that we have the opportunity to change the shape of politics in this house and perhaps across the European Union".

"We know that Mr Prodi wants to reunite all of the MEPs from his Margherita party and have them all in one group. We know that François Bayrou also wants to put his people into a new pro-European group", Mr Watson told this news-site, adding that he will hold a discussion with his colleagues tomorrow night to see what their view is.

Mr Watson also said that there could be a number of MEPs from the EPP group that would join this new group.

"I'm not sure what the numbers would be. But I think the dynamic of such a change could be a very powerful one and we could find more people coming out of the EPP group to join it and perhaps people from other parts of the house as well".

"This is not the only reason for forming a new group, but I think people are genuinely worried by the now regular expressions of anti-Europeanism from the British Conservatives, from the Czechs in the form of Mr Klaus's ODS party, and some others", he said.